


Brokeback Horses

by itsnotlove



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Cops, Corruption, Horse AU, Horse Yakuza, I can't even proof read because I'm laughing too much, I'm so sorry, Kadota riding Izaya and not being good at it, M/M, PLOT HAS BEEN DISCOVERED, i don't even know what this is, massive Shizuo horse cock, possible horse smut, slutty horse Izaya, this au is out of control
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-04-20 05:22:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4775228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsnotlove/pseuds/itsnotlove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shizuo is a Clydesdale who meets a pure black Andalusian dressage horse who pisses him off.</p><p>Shizaya horse au. I have literally no idea how else to summarise this. I'm so sorry.</p><p>A plot has been discovered. This story will now include corruption, blackmail, horse yakuza, and more than one forbidden romance. Once again, I am so sorry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ploughing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LegendofMajora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LegendofMajora/gifts).



It was hot, too hot, and the sweat from his stomach was turning into what felt like foam around his waist. The harness rubbed against him in an unpleasant way, reminding him that he wasn’t out in the paddock to enjoy the sun today.  
  
Shizuo panted, pulling the plough through the dry earth behind him as his owner, a farmer whose name he never cared to remember, walked beside him. He was a pleasant human, occasionally stopping his chatter to pat Shizuo’s hindquarters and tell him he was doing a good job.  
  
It was the farmers’ kindness that made such tiresome work almost palatable, and the fact that he was the favourite wasn’t bad either. He was the only stallion who wasn’t gelded, something that had once been a legitimate worry, but that was likely because he didn’t go chasing the mares like the other stallions did.  
  
“Whoa, Shizuo,” the farmer said suddenly as they approached the fence, “Take a break, big guy. Looks like the neighbour has a new boy, eh? Why don’t we have a look?”  
  
Shizuo kicked the ground with a hoof, uninterested in whatever this “new boy” was doing. He knew damn well that the only horses over the fence were the pretty sort, good on their feet and bred for the stud.  
  
_“Probably inbred as fuck,” (1)_ he thought, but looked over the fence anyway given that his blinkers (2) and the lead attached to his halter (3) made looking elsewhere difficult, unless he wanted to rip off his owners arm. Given that he was a Clydesdale, he was far too gentle for such an act (and more than intelligent enough to do something that risked him being gelded or sent to the abattoir), so he kicked the ground again and looked ahead.  
  
Shizuo’s heart skipped a beat as he saw the pure black Andalusian prancing around the paddock, feet moving perfectly as if he were dancing to a song only that horse could hear. The man riding him was quite obviously inexperienced, but that didn’t cause the stallion to falter one bit.  
  
It was beautiful, and pissed Shizuo off.  
  
His ears went flat back on his head and he bared his teeth, drool turning into froth as he gnashed his teeth. It pissed him off that this stallion was prancing around like he was some kind of filly, as if having some shitty human riding him was the best thing that could happen.  
  
“Whoa! Shizuo! What’s wrong with you?” The farmer half yelled, not bothering to step backward and instead running a palm along Shizuo’s blonde fur.  
  
“Tom-san?”  
  
Shizuo and his owner had been too wrapped up in Shizuo’s anger to notice that the rider and the horse had trotted over to the fence line, and the surprise seemed to cool Shizuo’s rage for a moment.  
  
“Not bad, Kadota. But don’t you think you should get a better rider on him?”  
  
“Nah, Izaya only seems to let me near him.” Kadota replied, placing both reigns in one hand so that the other could scratch his head, “Dunno why though. Shinra tried but he kept bucking him off.”  
  
Shizuo didn’t bother to listen to the rest of the conversation, too caught up with the ~~pretty~~ annoying horse smirking at him from the other side of the fence.  
  
_“What are you looking at?”_  
  
“Is that anyway to greet someone above your station?”  
  
“Eh?” Shizuo snorted, lips receding, _“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”_  
  
“Ah, don’t tell me I’ve met the only unintelligent Clydesdale?” Izaya replied long tail swinging behind him to swat away the flies before dipping his head down to peer between Shizuo’s legs, _“I thought you were meant to have a big brain, but it looks like you’ve only got one big muscle, ne?”_  
  
Shizuo was, for the first time in his five years of life, enraged. This little _show pony_ sounded like all the mares he’d turned down in the past, except this one seemed to cause his blood to boil. He stomped his feet, taking a loud step forward, just as the neighbour dismounted the black horse.  
  
Free from his rider, Izaya turned around quickly, lifting his tail to wink (4) at Shizuo before bolting. Shizuo reared, enraged, and breaking his harness before jumping the fence to take off after Izaya. Their owners, Tom and Kadota, stared after them as they ran but did nothing to try and catch them. Kadota had been riding Izaya bareback, with only a bridle and small set of reigns on him, so he was in no immediate danger of breaking his legs.  
  
Instead, Tom and Kadota apologised to each other and decided to visit their other neighbour, Simon. He was the only one they knew who had experience with misbehaving horses, so he’d probably be able to get them back.  
  
Meanwhile, Shizuo was leaping over broken fences and twisting around trees in an effort to track down the blur of black in front of him. He could hear whinnies of mocking from up ahead, and he knew that if he could just push a little harder then he’d be able to catch Izaya.  
  
What he’d do to him once he caught him was something he hadn’t decided yet.  
  
_“You really are all brawn!”_ Izaya sung out, slowing from a gallop to a canter in order to mock the huge horse behind him, as if the three hands (5) of height difference was nothing, _“No wonder you’re ploughing the field and not the mares!”_  
  
_“Shut up, flea!”_  
  
_“I don’t have fleas.”_  
  
_“You **are** a flea!”_  
  
_“How original.”_ Izaya leapt over another log, landing himself in a river. The water came up to his chest, and he stopped to look at the massive horse chasing him, _“You don’t know my name, so you call me something familiar to you.”_  
  
_“I don’t have fleas!”_ Shizuo neighed angrily, stopping at the log to peer down at Izaya, _“And I don’t wanna know your name!”_  
  
_“How cruel, Shizu-chan. I thought we could have some fun!”_  
  
_“My name isn’t Shizu-chan! And how did you know my name anyway?”_  
  
_“I though you said it wasn’t your name?”_  
  
_“Shut up!”_ Shizuo took three steps back and jumped the log, landing in the water beside Izaya. His ears flat back, he grit his teeth.  
  
_“Shinra, the annoying man who purchased me. He talks about you a lot.”_  
  
Shizuo became slightly angrier at the mention of the quack veterinarian, _“Well he didn’t say shit about you.”_  
  
_“It figures,”_ Izaya replied, letting his tail swat Shizuo’s hindquarters lazily, _“You may call me Izaya.”_  
  
_“I’ll call you flea.”_ Shizuo replied, stretching out his neck in order to bite Izaya’s. Izaya was too quick, bouncing out of the way before taking off toward the paddock they’d run from.

Shizuo heard him laugh and a _“You’re not my type,” (6)_ as he ran, and Shizuo was suddenly glad to be in the cold water of the stream.  
  
  


* * *

  
(1) Like with any animal, if they’re a purebred then they’re probably inbred.  
  
(2) Blinkers, or blinders, are things you put on a horse’s head to stop them from looking behind or to the side of them. It’s to help keep them focused and stop them from spooking (freaking out).  
  
(3) A halter is a cloth or leather harness that you put on the horses head so that you can attach a lead to it.  
  
(4) Female horses use their lady parts to ‘wink’ at stallions, to indicate that they are in the mood.

(5) Horses are measured in hands. In this, Izaya is approximately 16 hands high, and Shizuo is 19 hands high.  
  
(6) Stallions often bite the base of a mare’s neck when they mount them.


	2. Why the long face?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Horse Yakuza.

By the time Izaya had made it back to the stables, successfully dodging the tall neighbour sent to locate him, he found that he was no longer alone. He was annoyed at this, having incorrectly assumed that he’d have the stables to himself.  Slowing from a trot to a walk, he approached as quietly as he could in order to eavesdrop on the horses talking amongst themselves.  
  
_“All you have to do is stumble, it isn’t that much to ask.”_ A pure-bred, bay Arabian with one eye said to the white Orlov Trotter he’d cornered, _“Your owner will never know the difference.”_  
  
_“But I’ve never stumbled!”_ The Orlov Trotter replied, _“Miss Vorona will know! She knows everything!”_  
  
_“Fuckin’ human lover,”_ another horse, a Blue Roan Thoroughbred snickered, _“Just stumble, or we’ll make you.”_  
  
_“If you want to beat me, do it in the competition!”_ The white horse replied, _“Miss Vorona has worked hard, I won’t ruin it for her!”_  
  
_“Alright, no need to raise your voice.”_ The bay Arabian said, tapping a foot in surrender, _“It’s obvious you aren’t going to change your mind.”_  
  
_“I won’t!”_  
  
_“Alright, alright.”_ The bay turned around, walking away slowly, _“Aozaki, get on with it.”_  
  
_“Get on with what?”_  
  
_“Yeah, shut up, Akabayashi.”_ The blue roan, apparently named Aozaki, replied, turning his back on the white horse who seemed to relax slightly. _“Too bad, kid!”_  
  
_“Wha- ARGH!”_  
  
Izaya heard a loud crack, followed by slow hoofsteps. _“Now ya don’t need to stumble.”_  
  
_“You saw all that, right kid?”_ A low voice from behind Izaya asked, voice barely loud enough to be heard over the agonised neighing.  
  
Izaya turned on his head, eyeing the black and white Friesian towering over him. _“What did I see?”_  
  
_“Don’t play dumb, they’ll be after you next, y’know.”_  
  
_“I have no idea wh-”_  
  
_“They want their owners’ daughter to win the dressage championship,”_ the Friesian interrupted, walking out from the shadows in order to get a good look at the collapsed white horse bleeding from the knees, _“You’re gonna be an obstacle.”_  
  
Izaya snickered, _“Who said I’d allow that to happen to me?”_  
  
_“Someone as proud as you will let ‘em win?”_ The other horse laughed, _“Sure.”_  
  
_“What else would you suggest I do, ah, I didn’t catch your name.”_  
  
_“Officer Kuzuhara,”_ The Friesian replied, _“I’m undercover, and I can help you.”_  
  
_“It seems rather stupid to simply announce that you’re undercover.”_ Izaya laughed, walking slowly toward the whinnying white horse on the ground, _“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?”_  
  
_“You and ‘im are the only ones who know, so if anyone else finds out, you’ll be on your way to the glue factory, got it?”_  
  
Izaya swatted his tail, _“So what do you want?”_  
  
_“I need to find a way to communicate with my owner,”_ Kuzuhara said, looking at the white horse in pity, _“You’re going to help me find a way.”_  
  
_“I don’t think that’s possible.”_  
  
_“You’re a smart kid, you’ll figure it out.”_ Kuzuhara replied, _“Now get outta here, otherwise you’ll look guilty.”_  
  
Izaya exhaled, lips flapping slightly, and began to walk away.  
  
_“Don’t leave the paddocks, kid.”_

**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shizuo had been slowly wandering back to his paddock when he’d been found by the tall neighbour with the strange accent. He’d followed him willingly enough, glad that he hadn’t been forced to give the human a ride back to his paddock.  
  
His owner looked relieved to see him once he’d returned, offering him a salt-lick and brushing him whilst talking about something Shizuo couldn’t be bothered paying attention to. He was too caught up with his own thoughts and the salt lick, and couldn’t help but wonder what Izaya would have tasted like.  
  
Would he be salty?  
  
“Apologies, Tanaka-san.” A feminine voice called out from the door, “I had not anticipated a spontaneous appointment such as this.”  
  
Shizuo’s owner pulled away from Shizuo to look at the female human in his doorway, “Ah, you’re here to pick up the crop I mended, right?”  
  
“Affirmative.”  
  
Tom put the brush on the stool beside Shizuo and dusted off his hands, walking toward the crop in question. “It was an easy enough job, so there’s no need to pay me for it.”  
  
“A service was provided, theft if no payment exchanges hands.”  
  
“Let’s call it a favour instead, eh?” Tom laughed, inspecting the crop once more before handing it to the blonde who gave him a sceptical look, “Maybe there’ll be a day I need a hand with something?”  
  
“Affirmative, I will assist in the event you require aid.”  
  
“Right, right.” Tom walked back to Shizuo, picking up the brush and grooming him gently, “So are you here for the championship?”  
  
“Affirmative, Slon and I are here for dressage.”  
  
“Slon?”  
  
“My horse.” Vorona replied easily, “A white Orlov Trotter.”  
  
“Ah, he’s yours?” Tom asked, not bothering to mask his shock, “He’s a big one.”  
  
“Slon is larger than average, correct. However, height does not impair dressage capabilities.” The woman said, and Tom was certain she was boasting. “Slon and I have placed in each competition, there is no doubt that we are compatible.”  
  
Shizuo tried to ignore the conversation, focusing on staying awake. After the sweating he’d done that day, his fur had begun to matt so the brush felt luxurious.  
  
“I look forward to watching you compete then,” Tom smiled, “Shizuo here and I will be watching from the sidelines, so we’ll be rooting for you.”  
  
“Shizuo?” Vorona tilted her head slightly, and Shizuo turned his head to look at her lazily.  
  
“He’s a very peaceful horse.” Tom explained, “Or, he usually is. He’s got a big heart in any case.”  
  
“The name seems appropriate.”  
  
_“Didn’t need your permission, lady.”_ Shizuo scoffed, definitely not flattered.  
  
“So how lo-” Tom was cut off by a loud noise which sounded suspiciously like a horse crying out in pain, “What was that?”  
  
“Slon?!”  
  
“Miss Vorona, it could be an-”  
  
“It’s Slon!” the blonde panicked, “Excuse me!”  
  
“You won’t make it on foot, see if Shizuo will give you a ride.”  
  
“I cannot possibly.”  
  
“Here, I’ll ride along with you. Shizuo is strong, and we don’t need to tack up.” Tom dropped the brush and pulled a stool over, using it to mount the stallion. Shizuo shifted his shoulders so that Tom could sit more easily on him and exhaled. There was nothing he found more uncomfortable than being ridden, even if it was by someone he trusted, and he couldn’t imagine having two people riding him at the same time.  
  
Vorona nodded, mounting Shizuo easily and holding onto Tom’s waist. “If you would make haste, you would have my thanks.”  
  
“C’mon, Shizuo! Let’s get over to the stables.” Tom said, taking hold of the base of Shizuo’s mane and nudging his sides gently with his heels. Shizuo shook slightly then walked out of his own stable, breaking into a smooth canter once they’d reached the open.  
  
It didn’t occur to him that he’d see Izaya once he made it to the stables, and such information would have absolutely no bearing on how quickly he’d want to get there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom had called for Shinra as soon as they found Slon, the white Orlov Trotter, whilst Vorona attempted to comfort her horse. Though the humans couldn’t know, the fact that she allowed him to rest his head on her knees made him feel a great deal better.  
  
_“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Miss Vorona!”_ he whinnied, _“I’m sorry, sorry-”_  
  
“Annoying.” Shizuo interrupted under his breath, _“So annoying.”_  
  
_“Is that any way to talk about someone who is injured, Shizu-chan?”_  
  
Shizuo’s neck twisted quickly at the neigh, eyes narrowing as he watched Izaya step out from the stables. _“What do you want, flea?”_  
  
_“You’re the one who came to my stable.”_  
  
“I didn’t have a choice!” Shizuo protested, _“My owner rode me, was I ‘sposed to buck him off?”_  
  
Izaya didn’t reply, choosing to walk closer to the horse on the ground, _“It’s all a bit gruesome, isn’t it?”_  
  
_“You make that sound like a good thing.”_ Shizuo spat back in disgust, _“You do this?”_  
  
_“My hooves are clean, and I resent the accusation.”_  
  
_“I guess a pretty pony like you couldn’t do shit.”_  
  
_“Would you two shut up?”_ Slon mumbled.  
  
Shizuo and Izaya mumbled some more before being interrupted by Tom and Shinra, the medical student come veterinarian.  
  
“Ah, what do we have here?” Shinra asked cheerfully, “Looks like you’ve been kicked!”  
  
“Kicked? Elaborate.” Vorona asked.  
  
“Well, he clearly has hoof prints above his front knees,” Shinra explained, drawing a needle from his bag, “This won’t hurt a bit! Well, it might, I wouldn’t know.”  
  
“…”  
  
Slon didn’t protest, exhaling roughly as he was prodded with the needle before falling asleep, still mumbling apologies.  
  
“Now, should I put him down here?”  
  
“Negative!” Vorona yelled, “I beg, rectify this situation!”  
  
“That’s quite an expensive request, Miss. Are you su-”  
  
“Affirmative!”  
  
“Miss Vorona, are you sure?” Tom asked, scratching his neck, “I don’t wanna see a horse put down either, but-”  
  
“Negative! He must be saved!”  
  
Shinra laughed to himself, “Well if you insist! Tom-san, can you ask the stable boy to bring the horse and cart around?”  
  
“I’ve already taken the liberty of doing that, sir.”A voice from behind them said, “If you could stabilise Slon, we can move him.”  
  
“Egor-san, you scared me!” Shinra replied, “Do you always sneak around like that?”  
  
Egor chose not to reply, already bothered by the vet’s resemblance to his father. Instead, he turned his attentions to the blonde nursing her horse.  
  
“Miss Vorona, if I’m not mistaken?”  
  
“A-affirmative.” Vorona replied, too upset to introduce herself properly.  
  
“Miss, you must allow the vet to work.” Egor advised, stepping toward the woman with an outstretched hand, “Might I interest you in some tea?”  
  
Vorona looked at Slon, gently stroking his face before nodding. She placed his head gently on the ground and rose to her feet, ignoring the aid Egor had offered her.  
  
“Tom-san will keep an eye on things here.” He assured her, leading her toward the kitchens. As terrible as he felt for doing so, he decided to take this time to interview Vorona without her knowledge.  
  
He was a cop sent to investigate a series of accidents befalling horses competing in the dressage championship, and a horse with broken legs was no proof of innocence. As he led her away, he could have sworn he saw Kuzuhara, his horse, try to say something to him, but brushed it off.  
  
Horses couldn’t communicate, and even if they could, Egor had no time to discuss hay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry you had to read this. Also, I honestly have no idea how many chapters this will be, given how short they are so far. But! Horse porn, amirite?


	3. Hide nor Tail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I have no idea what is going on.

It had been a week and a half since the incident with Slon, and Shizuo had seen neither hide nor tail of Izaya. He’d been given time off from his ploughing duties in order to keep Slon company as he recovered, as Vorona had accepted Tom’s offer of temporary agistment (1).

 

Slon, Shizuo discovered, was quite the curious creature, and was always asking him strange questions about everything. At first, Shizuo had assumed this was because of the pain medication, but after a while he realised it was simply one of Slon’s character traits.

 

The problem was, he rarely had any of the answers himself, which led to both of the horses becoming sulky and restless. This obviously distressed Tom a great deal, and led to a visit from two beings that Shizuo was happy to see.

 

He heard them before he saw them, a tell-tale whinny in the distance followed by the sound of thundering hooves that Shizuo recognised to be that of an Irish Draught Horse. He perked up immediately, ignoring Slon’s questioning about his sudden happiness and made his way out of the stables in time to see Tom greeting Celty and Shooter.

 

“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” Tom said, bowing his head slightly.

 

Shooter nodded but said nothing, waiting for Tom to raise his head before dismounting Celty. He’d never been one to talk much, only speaking up when something needed to be said or when he was talking to horses.

 

Celty bent her two front legs slightly to aid in Shooter’s dismount before walking over to Shizuo, leaving the two owners to their conversation.

 

_ “Shizuo, is everything alright?!”  _ She asked worriedly, eyeing Shizuo nervously,  _ “Did something happen?” _

 

Shizuo shook his head slightly,  _ “Nah, I’m fine. You’re probably here for Slon-san.” _

 

_ “The one who was kicked?” _

 

_ “Yeah.” _

 

Celty tilted her head so she could see past Shizuo and into the stables,  _ “That makes sense, but I was su-” _

 

“CELTY!” An over enthusiastic voice squeaked, interrupting both conversations, “Celty, my honey! I knew you’d be he-!”

 

Shooter interrupted the veterinarian by tripping him over, shaking his head when Shinra continued to crawl toward Celty. “My black beauty!”

 

Shizuo rolled his eyes internally as Tom rushed toward Shinra, “You know Shooter hates it when you flir- uh, do whatever it is you do to Celty!”

 

“Until Celty tells me to stop, I’ll never stop grooming and loving her!”

 

Tom sighed heavily as Shooter took the opportunity to walk over and greet Shizuo, then gestured for both horses to follow him into the stables, “She’s a horse. She can’t say no.”

 

“ _ Won’t _ say no!” Shinra corrected, rising to his feet and brushing himself off.

 

Tom swallowed his disgust, having never been able to get past the vets infatuation, “How did you know she was here? I only called Shooter this morning.”

 

“I  _ always  _ know where my Celty is, Tom-san. That’s how I know it- Eh?! Celty?!”

 

Knowing he should take Shinra’s confusion as an opening to get Shinra far enough away from Shooter so he could do his job, Tom placed a heavy hand on his shoulder and half dragged him into the house for tea.

 

Meanwhile, inside the stables, Shooter was introducing himself to Slon. Shooter was a highly successful horse whisperer, and though he couldn’t converse as easily with horses as he could with humans, he almost always knew what they were talking about. 

 

Which is possibly why he knew what Slon’s real problem was before he had a chance to admit it for himself.

 

_ “I thought he just wanted to know stuff.”  _ Shizuo remarked after learning just how much Slon missed his owner.

 

_ “I do!”  _ Slon replied quickly,  _ “Miss Vorona reads to me every day! And she always tells me this stuff when we’re together, which gets my mind off the things I don’t know! But now there’s nothing to stop the burning curiosity within me! I’ll never eat or sleep again!” _

 

Celty shared a look with her owner, who shook his head slowly before pulling a phone out of his sleeve. He typed a message quickly, the sent noise almost echoing throughout the stables, before he turned his attention to Shizuo.

 

_ “What?” _

 

“…”

 

_ “…” _

 

“…”   
  
_ “Wh-” _

 

“…”

 

_ “I HATE THAT LOUSE, DON’T BRING HIM UP!”  _ Shizuo snapped, gnashing his teeth angrily and stomping his feet. Celty took a step back instinctively, but Shooter held his ground, staring at Shizuo as he typed another, much shorter message and sent it.

 

_ “Shizuo!” _

 

Snapping out of his near trance, Shizuo lowered his head and mumbled an apology to both of them. Celty frowned more out of confusion than anything, and Shooter rubbed Shizuo’s neck. 

 

_ “What’s going on?”  _ Slon asked curiously, too lost in his memories of Vorona to keep up with the his surroundings, but didn’t receive a reply.

  
  
  
  
  


**

  
  
  
  
  


Vorona had been with Egor when she received the message Tom had sent on Shooter’s behalf. As much as she wanted to continue spending time with the stable boy, she couldn’t stand the thought not being there for Slon should he need her. 

 

“Egor. Apologies, my departure is unexpected but must be immediate.”

 

Egor stopped moving the hay bales and looked at her curiously, “Did something happen?”

 

Vorona shook her head, “Negative. Nothing unfortunate has occurred. Slon requires my presence, and I require the horse Izaya.”

 

Egor eyed Izaya, who was standing eerily still in his stable, “Why?”

 

“Whisper Horse Shooter has informed Tom-san that he is required to illuminate Shizuo’s heart.”

 

Izaya made a loud noise that was ignored by the two humans, and kicked at the wall of the stable. He had never heard such a hilarious thing before.

 

“I don’t believe that Izaya allows anyone to ride him.”

 

“I will make him let me.” Vorona retorted quickly, then spun on one foot before striding over to the Andalusian, “Izaya, you will not prevent my mounting of you. You will escort me to the neighbouring property.”

 

Izaya tilted his head, unsure of what to make of the strange woman. He didn’t feel like being ridden, but the thought of Shizuo crying for him changed his mind. He bent his knees and bowed low, making it easier for Vorona to mount him.

 

“I cannot believe it.” Egor said quietly, impressed by Izaya’s compliance. “How did you do that?”

 

Vorona smiled, unsure of the how or why but unwilling to let Egor know that. “I asked politely.”

 

With that, Izaya turned and trot out of the stables, breaking into a smooth canter once there was more space. Egor stayed in the stables with a quizzical look on his face until the sound of a car pulling to a stop on the gravel at the other end of the property distracted him. Instantly on high alert, he tried to think of who could possibly be visiting.

  
  
  
  


******

  
  
  
  
  


Vorona and Izaya made it to the neighbouring property in record time, despite Vorona’s attempts to slow the horse down. It felt as though they were flying as he galloped through the fields, and she felt the tiniest bit of guilt for enjoying it. Slon needed her- she had no time for joyrides.

 

Strangely, Izaya’s body seemed to stiffen beneath her as they approached Tom’s stables. His carefree strut was replaced by something more robotic, but Vorona swore she could feel his hindquarters start to sway just a little. It was probably just her imagination though, and if it wasn’t, then she was likely just unused to riding another horse.

 

Vorona studied the stable as they grew closer, trying in vain to see where Slon was. She couldn’t, not when Tom’s large horse was in the way, staring out at them. Well, at least Slon had some decent company if nothing else. Such a peaceful presence must have done him the world of good.

 

The stables were only thirty or so feet away now- close enough that Vorona could see the ears of Tom’s horse flatten. It confused her, given he’d been so relaxed the other day, but she assumed he must be bothered by flies. That would explain why he was turning around, and why he was-

 

**_BANG._ **

 

**_BANG, BANG, BANG!_ **

 

The wall to the stable collapsed into a pile of rubble, threatening to take the building down. Dust and pieces of wood clouded the air, and Vorona felt Izaya stiffen beneath her. He hadn’t spooked (2), in fact, his ears perked forward he started to prance. Vorona wondered if he’d been trained to react to loud noises, but even then, this reaction was bizarre.

 

Tom’s horse bolted out of the stables and through the dust, gnashing his teeth as he sped toward them. He looked beautiful, his form perfect, and Vorona couldn’t help but admire it for a moment before the realisation of what was happening sunk in.

 

That giant horse was going to kill them. 

 

“Izaya!” Vorona pulled at the reigns and kicked his sides, urging him to move out of the way. “Izaya!”

 

Unfortunately, Izaya only stopped his prancing. His knees bent slightly, lowering Vorona to the ground, but she didn’t understand his request. With a giant sigh, Izaya straightened himself up again, then bucked so suddenly that she was sent flying. By the time she’d hit the ground, Izaya was already off and running, his tail high in the air as Shizuo chased after him.

 

If he’d waited a second longer to forcibly dismount his rider, Shizuo would have caught them for sure. But it wasn’t as if Izaya, the horse, knew that, right?

 

“...unnatural.” Picking herself up, Vorona dusted off her rear and watched as the two horses bolted into the distance. “Illumination of the heart is unnerving.”

  
  


“Oi, Vorona! Are you okay?!” Tom ran out from somewhere behind the stables, ignoring the damaged building totally in favour of checking Vorona for injuries. “That was a big fall! You didn’t hit your head, right?”

 

“Injuries are few. Minor bruising, possible scrapes.”

 

“Right, that’s good.” Tom slowed himself down to a walk and gave Vorona a once over just in case, then turned back toward the stable. “Geez, Shizuo...”

 

“Shizuo is strong.” Stating the obvious felt like the only thing Vorona could do after witnessing such a thing. 

 

“I knew bringing Izaya here was a bad idea, but Shooter really thought it’d help.” Tom scratched the back of his head and closed his eyes with a sigh. “He really hates that guy.”

 

“Affirmative.” 

 

The pair shared a quiet moment, both reflecting on just how strong Shizuo must be to take out the stables the way he had. Clydesdales were known to be powerful, but to knock down an entire wall was nigh on impossible. Surely, it would break another horse’s legs to even attempt such a thi-

 

“Slon! I request Slon’s location immediately!” A sharp jolt of guilt made Vorona’s stomach ache, and she turned to Tom with an almost frenzied expression. “Where is Slon?!”

 

“Ah, yeah!” Tom raised both hands in front of him and waved his palms at her. “Shooter moved Slon out of the stable about ten minutes ago. He’s in the paddock by the house.”

 

The panic left Vorona’s body as quickly as it had come, but her eyes remained wide regardless. “I request your direction to Slon immediately.”

 

With a nod, Tom ushered Vorona toward the house. “Sorry about that, I should have told you straight away.”

 

“Forgiveness is not required. If you wish to insist, we shall call my debt to you paid.”

 

“That’s fine with me.” Tom laughed. “We’re even, then.”

 

“Affirmative.”

 

The pair walked in a comfortable silence after that, with Tom enjoying the company and Vorona eager to see her horse. The house was only a short walk away from what had previously been a stable, and the paddock Slon was resting in was on the other side of it. By the time they neared the corner of the house, a strange noise echoed through the air, causing Tom to break the silence with a hearty sigh.

 

“Not again. How do they keep getting in here?”

 

“They?”

 

Vorona sped her pace and rounded the corner before Tom did, and stopped in her tracks. A black goat was standing on Slon’s back, staring at a donkey.

 

A donkey that was just standing there, staring at a dark black horse a few feet away, who was being bothered by the creepy vet.

 

“...”

 

“Oi! Mika!” Tom rushed past Vorona, his arms waving in the air as he tried to shoo the goat off the injured horse. “Get off Slon! C’mon!”

 

Mika, the goat, gave Tom a strange look as she skipped off Slon’s back. She immediately trotted toward the donkey, and narrowly missed a kick from its rear leg. That didn’t seem to stop her though, and she pranced up to its side and headbutted it affectionately.

 

“Goat?” 

 

“Yeah, I don’t think she did any damage to Slon.” Tom rubbed Slon’s neck gently, and frowned at the horse’s worried eyes. “Mika’s pretty light, but she gets into everything and steps on everyone.”

 

“...”

 

“She loves that Seiji though.”

 

Vorona kept her eyes on the donkey- Seiji- and the goat. It wasn’t uncommon for different species to bond, but seeing a donkey stare at a horse, and a goat rub against a donkey?

 

“Too bad Seiji likes Celty, otherwise it could be like one of those things you see on TV, about the different animals being friends. It’s just kind of creepy like this.”

 

“I concur. This behaviour is unorthodox.” Vorona walked toward Slon, who made a pathetic sniffling noise and tried to move toward her. She smiled at him gently and muttered something in a language Tom didn’t understand, and let her fingers pull lightly on his ears.

 

“Celty! Celty, I said I’m sorry! Ow! Even your hooves feel like heaven! Ow, ow!”

 

“Disturbing.” 

 

“That’s one way to say it. If Shooter left Celty with Shinra, then there must’ve had an emergency.”  A loud crash echoed somewhere in the near distance, making Tom and Vorona both jump. “If Shizuo catches Izaya, there might be an even bigger emergency.”

  
  
  
  


**

  
  
  
  


The wind flowed through Shizuo’s mane in a way he’d never felt before, and his body ached as adrenaline coursed through it. He thundered through the field, pushing himself harder and harder in the misguided hope that he’d catch the idiot running away from him.

 

His legs ached, unused to the strain of his heavy body galloping for so long, but he’d never felt quite so alive.

 

“ _ Shizu-chan is so persistent! _ ” Izaya called out happily, apparently unphased by the horse wishing his death chasing after him. “ _ It’s almost like you enjoy watching my hindquarters! _ ”

 

“ _ Shuttup! _ ” Shizuo growled back, leaping over the shadow of a fence. “ _ I just want to kill you! I’ll tear your fucking head off! _ ”

 

“ _ Hahaha! Shizu-chan loves my neck so much! _ ”

 

“ _ STOP TWISTING MY WORDS! _ ” Shizuo crashed into a tree and stumbled, but quickly picked himself back up. The bastard was trying to draw him into the forest, and even though he knew he was too large for the narrow paths between the trees, Shizuo followed him anyway. “ _ STOP RUNNING, LOUSE! _ ”

 

“ _ If you insist! _ ” Izaya stopped running and let his hooves skid across the ground. It hurt a little, but he was light enough that it caused no real damage. 

 

Shizuo, on the other hand, had forgotten how to brake.

 

“ _ FUCK! _ ”

 

He managed to leap over Izaya at the last second, his hooves clipping the laughing idiot on the back before he crashed into the ground and into another tree. The ground shook with his impact, and he stayed on the ground for a moment as he tried to understand what had just happened.

 

“ _ Shizu-chan, you aren’t a jumper. _ ”

 

“ _ Fuck off, bastard. _ ”

 

“ _ Are you embarrassed? Not because of the fall, but just in general. _ ” Izaya strutted toward Shizuo slowly. “ _ Be honest, now. _ ”

 

“ _ I told you to fuck off! _ ”

 

“ _ Dishonesty gets you nowhere! I thought we were closer than that! _ ”

 

“ _ Who’d be close to you?! _ ”

 

“ _ You, Shizu-chan. _ ”

 

“ _ Tch. _ ”

 

“ _ You were pretty close to me when you followed me into the river. _ ”

 

“ _ I was gonna rip your head off! _ ”

 

“ _ Don’t flatter yourself, you might be a stallion, but you aren’t large enough to reach all the way to my head. _ ”

 

“ _ Oi! That doesn’t make sense! _ ”

 

“...hello?”

 

Shizuo and Izaya stopped their bickering and pointed their ears toward the sound.

 

“Is anyone there?”

 

“ _ What’d you do?! _ ”

 

“ _ What’s that supposed to mean? _ ”

 

“ _ Did you kidnap a human kid? _ ”

 

“ _ I actually like humans, Shizu-chan. If I kidnapped a human child, I wouldn’t bring her here to be fed to you. _ ”

 

“ _ I’M NOT GONNA EAT HER! _ ”

 

“Neigh?”

 

“ _ Oh, she’s trying to communicate. _ ”

 

“ _ Did you tell her to call me that?! _ ”

 

“ _ I’ve never met the girl. _ ”

 

Snarling, Shizuo staggered back onto all fours just in time to see an unusually small human move out from behind a tree. She was the smallest human he’d ever seen- not that he’d seen many human children- but her eyes were massive. 

 

“ _ Uh... _ ”

 

The child stared at Shizuo, who must have looked like a monster. His body was covered in sweat, his mane and tail a mess, and he was still panting slightly. But she didn’t run, or so much as back away.

 

“...hello.”

 

“ _...hello. _ ”

 

“ _ Hello, little one! _ ” Izaya stepped between Shizuo and the girl and lowered his head. “ _ Are you lost? _ ”

 

“ _ She can’t understand you, idiot. _ ”

 

“ _ She doesn’t need to understand me. _ ” Izaya took another step forward, but the girl took two to the side. He tilted his head in confusion, not expecting to have frightened her. He took another step closer, his head even lower, but that only made her face scrunch.

 

Before either of them knew what had happened, the girl had bolted past Izaya and to Shizuo, and started scrambling up his leg. 

 

“ _ O-OI! _ ” Aghast, Shizuo froze so that he wouldn’t crush her by accident, and watched in horror as the child tried her hardest to climb his leg. “ _ What are you doing?! _ ”

 

“ _ Missing out of the opportunity of a lifetime. _ ” Izaya answered somewhat bitterly. “ _ To think that she’d want to ride you instead of me... _ ”

 

“ _ Ride me? The fuck are you talking about? _ ”

 

“ _ Are you an idiot? Why else would she be trying to climb your leg? She isn’t looking for apples! _ ”

 

“ _ Oh. _ ” Shizuo turned his head so he could watch the girl slide down his leg. “ _ This is weird. Uh... _ ” His tail swatted in thought, and he reluctantly bent his leg.

 

The girl stopped her movements as she watched him in awe, but once he’d bent low enough, she scrambled higher onto him. Her small hands gripped the base of his mane, and after several jumps, she finally climbed onto his back.

 

“Sorry!”

 

“ _ It’s a bit late for that, isn’t it? _ ”

 

“Could you take me home, please?”

 

“ _ At least she’s polite. You could learn something from her. _ ”

 

“ _ Like what, how to get myself lost in the woods? _ ”

 

“I don’t know what direction it is… um...” The girl’s legs tensed around Shizuo’s body. “I’m... lost.”

 

That much had been obvious. 

 

“ _ Where do you think she came from? _ ”

 

“ _ Why don’t you ask her? _ ”

 

“ _ She doesn’t know! _ ”

 

“ _ How should  _ I  _ know? _ ”

 

“ _ You fucking-! _ ”

 

Izaya sighed dramatically and started walking through the woods. “ _ She’s visiting the place I’m staying. _ ”

 

“ _ Oh. _ ” That seemed likely enough, and Shizuo started to trail after Izaya.

 

“ _ Don’t walk so closely, I don’t want anyone to think I know you. _ ”

 

“ _ Who’d want to know you, bastard!? _ ”

 

“Thank you, Strawberry-kun!”

 

“ _ Wait, wh- _ ”

 

“ _ Strawberry-chan is such a cute pony! _ ”

 

“ _ FUCK OFF! _ ”

  
  


* * *

(1) Agistment means that Tom is letting Vorona keep Slon on his property.

(2) When a horse spooks, it’s generally because it’s afraid. The horse rears, bucks, panics, and tries to flee- which is not a lot of fun for the rider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


End file.
